The vanilla orchid Vanilla planifolia Andrews originated in Mexico and, for centuries, was the exclusive secret of the native Totonac Indians who were later conquered by the Aztecs. Mexico remained the sole growing region for vanilla beans for another years because of the symbiotic relationship between the vanilla orchid and a tiny, indigenous bee called the Melipona.
This Mexican bee is the only insect that evolved to pollinate the vanilla orchid flower. Vanilla beans grow green on the vine and are harvested when the tips begin to turn yellow. The curing process is what gives the beans their characteristic brown color, as well as their flavor and aroma. In Mexico, the curing process involves wrapping beans in blankets and straw mats and then placing them in ovens for 24 to 48 hours. From that point on, the beans are spread in the sun daily to absorb heat and then placed in large wooden boxes overnight to sweat.
Once properly cured, the beans are stored on racks and in conditioning boxes to further develop and mellow the flavor. The entire curing process takes three to six months, making it a very labor-intensive endeavor. Tasting Notes: Mexican vanilla is a rich marriage of sweet and woody notes with a deep-spicy character, similar to clove or nutmeg. For almost 50 years after its arrival, the growth and production of vanilla was difficult. The vines grew successfully with beautiful blossoms, but seldom resulted in vanilla pods.
Eventually, hand pollination was perfected on a commercial scale. Growers could choose the best flowers and properly space them out on the vine, resulting in a healthier and higher quality vanilla pod. In Madagascar, the curing process is similar to Mexico with one slight difference; the farmers initiate the curing process by immersing the green vanilla beans in hot water for a short time.
The farmers then store the beans in sweat boxes before beginning the routine of spreading beans in the sun and packing them away at night. This unique curing process, along with the growing conditions, helps create the distinct, rich and highly complex flavor profile for which Madagascar vanilla is known.
Tahiti, an island in the southern Pacific, has a tropical climate that makes it an ideal location for growing vanilla. These two species were skillfully crossbred during the next few decades, resulting in the plump Tahitian vanilla beans we know today— Vanilla tahitensis. Tahitian vanilla is cured differently than vanilla grown in Madagascar or Mexico. Mature beans are stacked in a cool place for five to ten days, until they are completely brown.
They are then rinsed in clear water, a process unique to Tahiti. Next, over a period of a month, growers expose the beans to the gentle morning sun three to four hours a day. In the afternoon, they wrap the beans in cloth and store them in crates until the next morning, to promote transpiration.
Little by little, the water evaporates, causing the beans to shrink. Curing the vanilla beans takes several more months, and involves multiple steps that are all done by hand. From growing to pollinating then harvesting and curing, close to a year of work is put into a crop of vanilla beans before they are ready for export, and this work is done entirely by people without the aid of machinery—something unheard of in such a highly-mechanised industry as food production.
Adding to the pressure on vanilla farmers is the increasing frequency of extreme weather events that will worsen if climate change continues unchecked, and this will also affect the already high price of natural vanilla. Instead, alternative synthetic methods have had to be created to derive vanillin—that is the organic compound that most contributes to the recognisable vanilla taste, and to make it in large quantities at more affordable prices.
Vanillin is every way identical whether it is synthesised in a vanilla bean or done chemically in a lab. The reason why vanilla extract from beans is bolder and more complex than synthetically produced vanillin is that the natural vanilla contains a combination of other compounds that make up its full flavour.
However, these extra compounds—the ones that hint at cinnamon, rum, and flora—will be cooked out of foods at higher temperatures anyway, so only foods like pudding, ice cream or yoghurt really benefit from natural vanilla flavouring. Fun fact: Food experts have done small-scale tests where they offered people cookies that were baked using vanilla extract from natural or synthesised sources.
They found that people preferred the taste of cookies with artificial vanillin compared to the natural vanilla! The second largest source of vanillin comes from wood pulp, or rather lignin from plant tissues that is oxidised with caustic lye and sulphides.
The leaves will point down toward the bottom of the cutting. Fill a small pot with a mix of fir bark and peat moss. Fir bark and peat moss will ensure that the soil has good drainage. Alternatively, you could use a potting medium formulated for orchids. Keep in mind that orchids do better in small pots rather than in large ones or directly in the soil. Test the potting medium to ensure it has a neutral pH.
Vanilla orchids thrive in a potting medium with a neutral pH of 6. If you need to adjust the pH, add lime to increase the alkalinity or add organic matter like more peat moss to increase the acidity. Plant the vanilla orchid cutting in the pot. Bury the bottom 2 leaf joints, or nodes, of the plant about 1 inch 2.
Lightly tamp down the potting medium with your hands to stabilize the cutting. Water the orchid lightly with distilled water after planting. Water the orchid lightly, rather than deeply, just until the potting medium is moist. Part 3. Place the pot in an area with 6 hours of indirect sunlight per day. Vanilla orchids will get scorched if you place them in direct sunlight. To prevent this, choose an area of the greenhouse with bright, but indirect, sunlight. A location with dappled, but not deep, shade that gets at least 6 hours of sun per day is ideal.
Install a trellis next to the orchid to allow the vines to climb. Alternatively, you could position the pot near a stake or a tree so the vines can climb that. Allow the potting medium to dry out between waterings or mist it daily.
Wait until the top 2—3 inches 5. After watering, the soil should be moist but not soggy. Alternatively, you could mist the orchid daily with distilled water from a spray bottle.
Lightly spray the soil, stem, and leaves of the plant. When the plant is actively growing, use a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer. When the orchid is not in active growth, use a fertilizer. Allow the vanilla orchid to grow and mature for years. As the orchid grows, air roots which are roots that grow above the soil will attach upward to the support and others will reach down to the soil. It will take between years for the plant to grow large enough to bloom, as it must reach 20—40 feet 6.
Part 4. Pollinate the vanilla orchids when they develop clusters of flowers. The vanilla orchid only flowers for one 6-week period per year. Additionally, the flowers only last approximately 1 day! When it does flower, you will need to hand-pollinate the flowers in order to grow the vanilla beans. Push the anther up and place the pollen on the ridge. Push the pollen mass out and hold it up with your right thumb and index finger.
Use your middle finger to push the anther back and expose the cam underneath it, which serves as a shield. Place the pollen on the ridge. Push the ridge back into place with your left hand and pull the cap back down. Repeat with all the flowers.
Wear gloves and be cautious when replanting or pollinating the plant. Look for stems that face downward to indicate successful pollination. Check the orchid the day after pollination. The flowers should not fall off, but they will wither and turn dark brown. If the stem begins to elongate instead of point up, it is pollinated. Part 5. Pick the pods when they begin to turn yellow at the bottom. The pods will appear within 2 months of pollination, but they take months to mature.
During this time, care for the plant as you normally would. Then, when the pods, normally green, are just starting to turn yellow, carefully pluck them off the plant. Submerge the beans for minutes, then carefully remove them. This kills any germs or bacteria, and also prepares the beans for curing.
Sweat the beans for hours in a blanket-lined box. After blanching the beans, transfer them to a box lined with a blanket. A bamboo box and woolen blankets are best, but you can use whatever you have on hand. The beans will sweat out moisture due to the heat, helping them to dry out. Alternate drying the beans in the sun and sweating them for days.
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